Method of composing type and type and backing element therefor



METHOD OFfCOMPOSING TYPE AND TYPE AND BACKING ELEMENT THEREFOR Filed DSC. 17. 1953 March 17, 1959 J. A. WILLETT 2,878,122

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H IS ATTORNEYS.

United States atent METHOD F 'COMPOSING TYPE AND TYPE AND BACKING ELEMENT THEREFOR Jolm A. Willett, Boston, Mass., assigner to Davidson ACorporation, Brooklyn, N. Y., a corporation of Illinois I Application December 17, 1953, Serial No. 398,824

1 Claim. (Cl. 96-43) This invention relates to methods of composing type and to improvements in type elements and to sheets or base elements on which the type elements are assembled during type composing. It relates more particularly to improved kinds of base sheet and type elements which can be assembled on the base sheet to compose copy in an inexpensive and quick manner.

It has been proposed heretofore to form letters, Words, symbols and the like necessary for type composition on transparent or thin exible backings. Such symbols, letters, logotypes and the like have been provided with a sticky substance on the backs thereof so that they can be stuck to a supporting plate such as a piece of glass or a piece of transparent plastic white or black paper or the like to form a composition that may be photographed or from which a print may be made on photographic film to enable a printing plate to be made therefrom. Type elements having sticky backs thereon are not very practical. The sticky material or adhesive on the back thereof causes them to bond so tightly to the supporting backing that they cannot be shifted readily if they should be improperly positioned, as is often the case. Moreover, they must have a protective covering over the adhesive as otherwise they would stick together and be diflicult to separate and to apply to the backing sheet. The dit`n`culty of removing the covering while composing slows the operation excessively.

Diculty has been encountered heretofore in providing type elements of the kind described from which sharp, clear printing plates can be produced. The prior type elements are normally produced by a printing with ink. They have not been satisfactory because they are not suficiently opaque and sufficiently free of imperfections such as scratches, bubbles, pinholes and the like, to enable clear, sharp copies to be made thereof.

The diiculties and disadvantages inherent in the prior articles have been overcome by the present invention by providing type elements, logotypes, symbols and the like which are clear, sharp and sufciently transparent and opaque to enable clear, sharp copies thereof to be made. In accordance with the invention, the type elements preferably are made photographically so that the type elements are photographically sharp images. Typical type elements may consist of a transparent backing having on one side a photographic emulsion in which the image is formed and on the opposite side a stress coating to prevent bending of the flexible support and also to promote improved adhesion to the supporting base on which the type elements are assembled. The type elements in accordance with the invention are free of tacky or adhesive material so there is no danger of their sticking together, no protective backing is required thereon and because of their lack of stickiness, they can be used and reused as required.

The backing sheet on which the types, logotypes, symbols and the like are composed in accordance with the present invention is of a transparent and stili nature and may be formed of any one of the series of materials such as glass, transparent plastics and the like. The .backing is provided with a surface coating of a peculiar and most advantageous type which greatly facilitates thecomposition or assembly of the type thereon. The backing is provided preferably with a thin coating of a material which is not sticky to the touch but which will adhere lightly to articles which are pressed againstit. The adhe-` sive property is such that the article can be detached readily from the adhesive without the latter clinging to the article. A preferred type of adhesive which is highly satisfactory in practice is a microcrystalline wax of slightly tacky nature having a melting point in the vicinity of about to 160 F. This wax is suciently tacky to hold the v.type elements in position when they are pressed against it, but they are not held so firmly that they cannot be detached and shifted to another position. The film of wax differsy from the pressure sensitive adhesives which hold the type elementsl so tenaciously that they cannot be removed therefrom or'shifted if improperly located or positioned. Moreover, `the wax has little tendency to collect dirt thereon and in fact, may be readily cleaned if dust or dirt does settle thereon. Moreover, thewax hlm can be reconstituted merely by warming the plate and thereby melting and restoring the wax as a thiniilm on the backing. v

With type characters or elements and a backing sheet of the type described the types can be assembled in a desired relation on the surface of the backing sheet where they are retained suiliciently ltenaciously to enable a print to be made thereof on photosensitive paper or film. From this negative, a positive can be produced and from the positive, in turn, can be made gravure type of plate by a suitable printing operation. Inasmuch as the method does away with the production of complicated type setups and the materials involved are inexpensive, it is possible to produce a printing plate for only a fraction of the price normally required for production of a conventional printing plate.

The process has the advantages that it may be used for printing newspapers, flyers, bulletins and the like without involving complicated apparatus or such expensive operations as to render the' method unfeasible.

For a better understanding of the present invention, reference may be had to the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. l is a plan view of a typical backing 'sheetfor reception of type characters, symbols and the like vto be composed thereon; t

Fig. 2 is a view'in section through a portion ofthe backing plate taken on line 2 ofFig. 1 and shown somewhat enlarged; t

Fig. 3 is a view of a character embodying the invention;

Fig. 4 is a view in section taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 3 and shown greatly enlarged;

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the front of a board used for composing type illustrating the backing sheet thereon and types in position on the backing sheet;

Fig. 6 is a plan view of the back of the composing board; and

Fig. 7 is a sectional view of the backing sheet with type thereon and a filter and diiusing sheet assembled therewith in contact with a sheet of photosensitive paper in the process of making a paper or iilm negative from the assembled article.

The invention will be described with reference to typical articles and procedure"s involved in the composition of type on a backing sheet embodying the present invention.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, the backing sheet on which the type is to be composed or read may consist of a sheet 10 of transparent plastic, glass or the like of suitable dimensions, Sheet 10 preferably is formed'of a 2,8%,122 Y f f f transparent, yellow tinted 'plastic such as Lucite or Plexiglas which 'is Labout 'one-'sixteenth to one-eighth inch in thickness. The sheet should be suiciently durable to enable it to behantiled without breakage. The sh'eet 10 'is'provided 'with "a fsrface coating 11' of an ad hesive 'material which is Liisedto secure `the type elements de'sizribedliereinafter, tothe surface ofthe sheet. The .preferred tacky adhesive for use on a sheet is a Vmicro- 4crystalline wax having a melting point in the vicinity of 140 'to 1`60 F. A lwax of the'type'described has been found to be highly suitable `for the surface coating because it has as lightly tacky characterwhich venables it to 'adhere to type characters ofthe kind disclosed herein. A `suitable for the purpose'is manufactured by the Waru 'wick Wax'Company Inc., 'ofChanute,'Kansas, and known 'as Warco Wax #150, yellow. The wax melts between fa'bout 145 "and 150 F. Otherlsimilar waxes can be ju'sed. Other petroleum "or parafiin 'waxes which 'have been .-plas'ticized lor otherwise 'treated to 'render 'them "slightly'ta'cky may be used equally well. y Othe'r'p'ressure sensitiveadliesiveswhich "are treated'to reduce their-"sticki- "nes's l'or vno'anufactu'r'e'd 'to :provide only a'sligiht surface `t`acl inessniay`also be used.

y The wax coating 11'i's applied'to the 'shghtlylpreheateh b'se 10 'with the standardtype rollercoating equipment lo'rin''anyothe'r desired vwa'yand is allowedto dry in air fwithoht oalendaring `or lpolishing. When the wax has harderie'd, it has a slightly 'misty or matte surface which, nevertheless, is highly translucent or substantially trans` parent. AThe wax coating lll'is of such character that 'dust 'or dirt can be blown 'off of it quite readily 'and it `tle dirt 'shouldheembedded by pressure in the wax, it

can be picked ott -with a knife or other 'tool and the 'inarred surface ofthe Waxrestored by warming the plate Aslightly to remelt the wax.r

The type elements used tor 'composing on the base fsheetdescribedabove are'novel in structure. The individual type 'elements y14, 'forexamp1e, are made in 'suitablyrelated sizes. For `exarnple,'the letters of a font `oftypea`re proportioned `in 'such manner that when they are :assembled edg'cltoledg'e, their spacing, width and height are properly related. The type characters are -formed, preferably, on a "photographic lm, the base 'f whichmay consist of athin, relatively stili 'sheet of transparent materiallS. Atypical base material is stiff, transparent vinyl sheeting about .01 to .0125 inch in Ithick-ness. 'I'he lm'hasonone surface 16 a photographic mlsion'preferably of the high contrast, contact chloride emulsion type andon its back surface astresscoating t7 'to prvent'crlingof the film due to the presence 'of the -photographic emulsion thereon. The stress coating is kformed `of Ygelatinor the like and may contain an antihalation "dye. It is" characterized by a slightly roughened rinia'tte surface for a purpose to be described.

The photographic-emulsion on the front side of the sheetlS is'exposed in`a'ny suitable'wa'y andis developed and -tired to reproducephotographically Vthe particular character or symbol thereon which is desired. The indi- `vidual "charac'teis'can be Amadevin strips or sheets by a stepand repeat 'or'other photographic yoperation enabling them to be made in large quantities. VThe photogrphically produc'zed `rcharacters on lthe sheets can be made much sharper than can ordinary inkprinted char- "actersaid the photographic characters are highly opaque "andare free fromv pin holesor specks'which mar the overall opacity'o'fcharactersprintd 'with ink. AThe provision "of characters which haveV a photographic emulsion on' one `vside and a slightly matte or roughened vstress coating on "thebck'sidel' isadvan'tgeous in that it has been found "thati'asinoth 'photographic emulsion does not stick readilyto the wax coating `11 on 'the backing sheet 10 ,while the matte surface of the stress coating sticks quite fi'jinly.u The'dier'ence vin` the'surfaces of the characters "makes 'it`dicult` to assemble or 'compose the characters vinman upside down"'or backwards! position. Thus, 'the characters will stick relatively tightly when their rough- 'ened surfaces are pressed against the wax coating but do not stick readily when the photographic emulsion is pressed against the wax coating 11. Moreover, the type characters may be provided with tactile indicators such as nicks or notched corners 18 at their upper right-hand corners, so that they will 'not/be composed upside down or upside down and backwards. This might occur with letters such as d, b, p, q and g. These letters might be used improperly and would destroy alignment in the composition if not provided with some indicating means in addition to the smooth and matte surfaces of the characters.

In order to facilitate the composing of the types on the backing sheet, I have provided a composing board which consists of a board backing 20 of any suitable size having a pair of register or locating pins 21, 22 for engagement in corresponding openings 23, 24 in the top ot' the base sheet 1B. The board has 'a crossbar 25 extending across its back which is connected at its opposite ends to channel members 26 and 27 vsliding von the 'side edges of the board 20. The back of the board is also provided with pulleys 30, 31, 32 and 33 at its corners over which are passed Acables 35 and 36 connected to the opposite ends of the crossbar sothat it can be moved up and down only parallel to the top and Vbottom edges of the board.

Atrthe front of the board is a scale or straight edge 37 which may be detachably or movably 'connected to the channel members 26 and 27. As illustrated, it is provided with openings for receiving the guide pins 38 and 39 `extending up from the channels to enable the straight edge to be lifted oi the channels and replaced accurately thereon.

The straight edge 37 'may be provided with a pica scale at its upper edge and an inch scale at its lower edge and the board may also be provided with a vertical pica scale along itsedge.

In use, the base sheet itl is placed onthe composing board 20 with the register pins 21, 22engaging in the openings'23, 24 in the base sheet 10. The types 14, 14 etc. are then assembled in the desired relation along the scale so they arelmaintained in a straight'line. Due to the releasablc adhesive nature of the wax, any adjustment of the types that is required may be accomplished by lifting and placing the type characters before finally pressing them tightlyagainst the coating 11. Even then, they can bek readily lifted, vif' further vadjustment is found to be necessary.

When the composition is completed, the backing sheet itl with the types 1d asembled'thereon can be transferred to ayacuum printing frame where it is covered with alteringand ditusingsheet 4t) of thin colored plastic, forexample," yellow orarnbcr cellophane or vinyl sheeting which conforms itself to the type characters and the front of thesheet. A sheet of photosensitivc paper 41 or hlm is then placed in contact with the hlm and the whole assembly is placed in a vacuum frame where the exposure is made through the types 14 and backing vsheetlMland the filter sheet 40 onto the photosensitive paper 41. The resulting .negative may then be developed and xed. A paper negative is produced when photographic paper is used in the process. A transparent negative maybe produced, if desired, by using photographic hlm instead of paper. The diffusing sheet ttl is used to mask-out and diffuse pin holes, the cut edges of .the type elements'or other surface imperfections likedust specks on vthe subject. Evidently the spacing afforded by the vsheet 40 is such as to diffuse the light-and'concealthe surface imperfections -whichl otherwise would show up in the tinal copy. Nevertheless,it has been` found that the edges of the type characters are sharp and clear.

The negative 41 produced above may be used for "the production ofa positive-and the positive may be'used to produce a printing plate of a desired kind by known methods.

In the production of a printing plate, as described above, the principal expense involved is in the photo sensitive paper and in the plate itself. The type elements involved in the composition may be reused repeatedly as can the base sheet. Thus, the initial expense for these items is not repeated in the production of each plate and in fact many different type compositions can be produced from the original kit.

The type elements may be retained in any sort of a type holding box, for example, a simple box having upright partitions therein and having a coating of wax like that used on the base plate 10. The type elements may be stuck to the Wax coating in a more or less upright position. The type box enables the type elements to be picked off rapidly and transferred to the base sheet as may be required. Moreover, they can be restored to the type box and stuck to the partitions therein with a minimum of etort.

From the preceding description, it will be apparent that I have provided a method of composing type, apparatus for accomplishing the same and base sheets and type elements which coact in a new manner which in themselves have characteristics not known heretofore in this art. They overcome almost completely the dificulties encountered heretofore in providing types of an inexpensive yet sharp and clear character that could be stuck readily to a base sheet adjusted on it and can be reused repeatedly.

While reference has been made to the elements 14 as having types or type characters thereon, it will be understood that they may be printed with other symbols such as chemical symbols, electrical symbols and the like which may be arranged to indicate chemical compounds, electrical circuits or even schematic showings of ow sheets and the like in chemical and other industries, as may be required. In each case, it will be understood that symbols or characters will be of appropriate size so as to t together and be related with other elements with which they are used.

It will be understood that in some instances, it may be desirable to provide reversed types so that instead of having opaque characters on a clear or transparent background, the background may be made actinically opaque while the letters are transparent to thereby produce different effects as may be required.

It will be understood that many dierent fonts of type may be produced for achieving different effects. Thus, the fonts may be made in several different sizes of capi tals and in various sizes and forms of italics or script. Entire words (logotypes) may be formed, for example, for use in making flyers or bulletins for use for advertising in grocery stores, drug stores and the like as the case may be. Accordingly, the forms of the invention disclosed herein should be considered as illustrative of the invention and the claim therefore should not be considered as limited thereby except in so far as specified therein.

i claim:

A method of composing type and making prints therefrom, comprising assembling a plurality of lines of type elements on a transparent base sheet, said sheet having a continuous substantially transparent film of a slightly tacky microcrystalline wax substantially covering one of its surfaces, each type element comprising a piece of thin, transparent material having a surface coated with a smooth, photographic emulsion non-adherent to said wax, said emulsion containing a developed and fixed photographic print of an opaque type character, said type element having an opposite surface with a coating thereon for preventing curling of the type element, said coating being non-adhesive but roughened to render it adherent to said wax film when pressed against the wax lm, placing over the assembled lines of type elements a transparent diffusing sheet, placing in contact with said diffusing sheet a photo-sensitive member and exposing the latter to light through said base sheet, the type elements assembled on the base sheet and the diffusing sheet to make a print therefrom.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,207,506 Cornwall Dec. 5, 1916 1,403,669 Chouinard Jan. 17, 1922 1,597,727 DeSperati Aug. 31, 1926 1,631,421 Lohofer I une 7, 1927 1,939,213 Jelley Dec .12, 1933 2,043,906 Sheppard et al June 9, 1936 2,200,203 Heintz May 7, 1940 2,250,583 Krauter July 29, y1941 2,446,915 Filmer Aug` 10, 1948 OTHER REFERENCES Clere: Photography, Theory and Practice (1937), page 190, Pitman and Sons, Ltd., London. 

